Rhode Island continued its slow recovery from the Great Recession through 2016. The number of units authorized by building permits rose 23 percent, including multifamily permits issued in three of Rhode Island’s most rural municipalities; the median value of a single-family home increased more than five percent; and unemployment, at 4.9 percent at the close of Q4-2016, returned to pre-recession levels. Building permits issued in 2016 were 1,226; 25 percent of those were for multifamily units.

Less than half of Rhode Island’s municipalities issued building permits for multifamily buildings at all. In only three municipalities will multifamily production represent more than 50 percent of building activity. Increased housing prices and rents have meant a substantial decrease in the number of municipalities where buyers and renters with incomes under $50,000 may expect to find homes they can afford. Only Central Falls and Providence (without East Side) reliably offer homes for sale that fit this budget. Similarly, renters with incomes under $50,000 can expect to find a two-bedroom apartment in only six municipalities, down from 11 in 2015. Moreover, Rhode Island renters’ median income is $30,934, and there is no municipality where that is sufficient to meet the cost of the average two-bedroom apartment. Even homebuyers with an income of $70,000 have seen the number of municipalities with median home prices they can afford dwindle from 16 in 2015 to 12 in 2016. Halfway through 2017, the trends appear to be continuing, with another 7.5 percent increase in the median single-family home price over 2016.